The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1887-09-09
County Roads.

Last week we published summary
of the discussion had by the Deer Greek
Farmers Club on the roads and road
laws of Hartford county; the road laws
of that and all other counties of
the State are similar to those of Cecil
county. These laws have undergone
various changes from time to time but
no marked improvement has been
achieved. The same fundamental prin-
ciple Of constructing and keeping in
repair the county roads has never
been departed from, hence all superfc.
ial changes that have been resorted to
have proved of no avail. The very root
and branch of the system is wrong, and
until this underlying evil is eradicated,
and system which possesses science
and sense is inaugurated the roads will
never be improved or the expenses cur.
tailed, but rather increased. There
are more roads already than are neces-
sary to accommodate the public, but
more are asked for and granted every
year.
AS it is not fair or profitable to find
fault with method or system of doing
business without suggesting some other
that would be presumable improve
ment on the existing ones, we present
the following plan which contemplates
a general and local supervision of the
roads an idea which the Hartford Climb
favored but which the members had, or
seemed to have formed but vague,
shadowy conception of.
In the first place we contend that
there are twenty or twenty. five per cent
more roads in the county than are suf-
Gcient to accommodate travel and trans
portation, and this alone tends to add to
the expense and prevent the whole
from being kept in better order. The
supervision of all these roads or rather
by roads by three County Commission
ers is task they have always been
unable to accomplish properly. The
merely local roads should be placed in
the hands of those who use them,
almost exclusively, and the main thor.
oughfares only be under the direct con-
troll of the County Commissioners. A
main thoroughfare is road which per-
sons driving from one remote neighor-
hood to another will be compelled to
use, and which serves as main artery
for the travel which debouchs on it from
adjacent sections threaded by numerous
neighborhood roads. One main thor
oughfare dividing the county casterly
and westerly as near the middle as pos.
sible, the grade of the road to be kept
in view, and running from or near the
Pennsylvania line in the 9Th district, to
the most appropriate point on the Sas-
sairas river would suffice for all the
travel and transportation if the road
was thoroughly dry, hard road winter
and summer. Let this main road be
crossed by three, four or five similar
roads, cutting the main artery as near
at right angles as practical, extending
these roads across the county and divid.
ing the distance between the cross
roads, which woull place them six to
ten miles apart. There need be no new
roads opened for this purpose. There
are abundance Of roads running in all
directions which would serve for these
main roads. To put these roads in the
condition that such roads should be
kept, it would require the service of
competent engineer with two intelligent
men to make preliminary examination
of the county and designate the roads
to be used for these main arteries of
travel. These roads should then be
placed exclusively under the control of
the County Commissioners together
with the bridges in the county, and no
other roads should be under their juris.
diction or control. These main roads
should bo made thoroughly
permanent and good under the direc
ton Of civil engineer, subject to the
control of the Commissioners. The
roads to be turnpiked where macada-
mixing was necessary, and properly
graded and constructed in sandy, gray.
ely and billy districts, where turnpik
ing could be dispensed with. To levy
sufficient tax on the property of the
county to keep these roads up to the
standard of thoroughly good, dry,
smooth roads at all seasons of the year,
should be the duty of the County Com.
missioners.
We have in addition to these main
roads multitude of cross roads, trian.
gle roads and by,roads, coursing every
district like the veins in leaf. Many
of these roads are accommodations to
one, two or three families or farms, and
the neighborhoods would be better off
if great many of them were shut up
but al of this class of roads should be
delegated to local management, by d.
viding the county up into small road
districts of five or six square miles,
anA IN la0~kh and vw;J4b